Windermere
__TOC__ Background Once, when she was small, she trusted. She was safe and loved in a family - her parents together, her two brothers always there to pick her up if she fell and scraped her knees. Her mother was the first to desert her, to leave a hole in her soul. She saw her mother waste away daily, the coughs wracking the air with agony. When she was six, her mother died. Growing up became harder then. Her father worked all day at his business and her two brothers were with him most of the time, as they'd grown old enough to help. She was alone for most of the day. She tried to keep the house neat, but it was hard, for she had never learned how to from her mother. She was not even half grown and given the responsibilities of a woman. Her best times were when her brothers had deliveries to make; then it was almost like before. They'd let her tag along on their stops; she'd sit atop the wagon, perched on one of the many barrels, and watch and listen. It was so good to get out into the world. She met many people then, and they remembered the somber little sylvan, her eyes so big and her hair all tangled and her dress ragged and too small. Word of the family's beer spread, and her brothers went farther and farther abroad in their wagon. Eventually, they started traveling distances which required overnight stays. Thus, her second betrayal. Her father said no, she could not go. It was not fitting for a child to wander even in their district with nothing but kegs and barrels of beer and two untried young men for company. She wept. It did no good. Most nights, it was only her and her father in their home. They ate. She tried to mend her clothes, but she wasn't very good at it. Her father brought home receipts and contracts and accounts to record when the boys weren't home. When she was twelve, and used to the loneliness, her own body betrayed her. She was pulling weeds in what passed for a berry patch when one clung stubbornly to the earth. Until, that is, a spark from her fingers charred it. The berry patch was a smouldering ruin by the time her father and brothers managed to put the fire out. The only people she knew packed her away then. They said the hierophants insisted that her power had to be controlled, else she was a danger to everyone and everything she loved. The towering citadel was as much a prison as a school to her. She listened and learned much, though, for she was bright and it was the first real schooling she'd had. Ten years she spent there, ten years far from home, with the occasional letter from a brother telling her of home. She made no friends, for she was of a race looked down upon by her peers in the school. Elves may tolerate sylvans, but not when the sylvan in question shows herself more masterful of a craft, especially one so vital as this. She still remembered the peculiar brightness of the sun, the sparkling blue of the sky, the myriad greens of the leaves on the day she came home. It was not the home she had left, however. The small signs of prosperity that had had been evident before were gone. Her brothers seemed troubled and fidgety, her father despondent. And there was a stranger sitting down to dinner with the family. He was deferred to by her father and looked out of place in their home. Even though her brothers were handsome, they didn't have the sleek look that flowed from the elf, an air of money, of security in his person. He scared her. Once dinner was over - evidently one of the boys had learned to cook in her absence - her father took her out to look at the stars. The elf bided his time inside, inspecting the contents of her home as if he owned them. And she was betrayed again. Her father explained to her about contracts, business problems, and mortgages. If she did not agree to be betrothed to the stranger the family, her brothers, her home would be lost. The rich elf owned everything. Her father was too deep into debt to get out in any other way. She felt the stars dim in her soul, knew no day would be as bright as the one she had just gone through again. So were Windermere and Baelhar betrothed. Service For Hire Service: Enchanting Major Enchant: Varies Minor Enchant: Free Contact: In game or on AIM at Dresdena Category:Platinum Profiles Category:Platinum Enchanting